Refrigerated display case for butcher shops and the like



Sept. 12, 1933.

.' 'REFRIGERATED DISPLAY CASE FOR BUTCHER :SHOPS'KND THE LIKE c.FREDBERGY Filed Sept. 9. 1929 Y Y v Patented Sept. 12,1933 v v a W an",is

. iszavis nnrnrcnnarnn DISPLAY case For. :ep'rorma snore AND r m LIKE Y"can Fredberg, Chicago, Ill. Applicationseptember 9,1929; Serial no;some:

9 Claims. {(162-8915) In butcher shops, delicatessen stores and the ateddisplaycase with compartments disposed one i like, it has been customaryin recent years to use above'the other and having a new andimproved Itransparent refrigerated display counters for. door construction for thelower compartment showing the various-cuts of meat or other foods.whichrenders the products clearly visible from a Q 5 While suchdisplayof the foods isdesirable and point -forwardly or" and above thecompartment, 0

aids the customer to some extent in selecting the which permits thedoors of laterally adjacent com cuts of'rneat'desired, it-has not beenentirely satpartments to be opened at the same time, and isfactorybecause of the poor refrigeration of the whichmove', when opened, 'to'anout-of-the-way countersand the small storage capacity thereof. positionso as to facilitate removal of the foods 10 Thishas made it necessarytostock thecounter from the compartment. V i 65 frequently ,during the dayand to remove all meats Anotherobject is to provide such a-display casefrom the counter at, night, Much time has also arranged so that arapidand positive circulation been lost in bringing various large cutsof meatof cooled air is maintainedwithin the compartfrom the storagecooleriorcutting"or for inspecmerits atall times, and further-arrangedso that Q tion by the customers; a I the normal'cpening and closingofthe doors'pro- Byireason of the type of building usually occu--motes'circulation or" the air-Within the case and pied and because ofthelnecessityror economy of serves to prevent any increase inthetemperafioor and irontage'space, themajority of shops ture due to suchopeningoithe doors. 1 g of this kind areiound in narrow and ,compara- YOther'objects and advantages will become ap i tively deep rooms withtheoounters and aisles arparent from the following description taken. in

ranged insubstantially thesanie manner: The connection with theaccompanying drawing, in conVentionalLand most eficient arrangement iswhich: f 1 v i provide'dby placing a'counter. lengthwise of the Figurelis a iragme'ntal perspective view of a room to provide an-aisleon onesidefor the cus-- display Case c y h the invelltibn- 5 tomers and-a workspace fortthe salesmen behind a Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectionalview of v v or. on the other -side'of the'counter The storage thecaseshown'in Fig.1: cooler is, in such cases, placed in theback end ofFig. .3 is an end view: of store showing the the'room so that thereplenishing of the stool; case positioned therein for use;

in the-display counter or the carrying of meats While the invention issusceptible of ,various go to the front of the store forinspectioninvolves; modifictions' and alternative constructions, I l

considerable loss oftimef l i V V have shown in the'drawing and willherein de- The primary object of the presentfinvention is scribe indetail thepreie'rred embodiment, but it to increase the efficiencyandeconomywith which is to be understood that I do not thereby intendstores ofthis character maybe operated'by proto limit the invention tothe specific form disviding a narrow'refrigerated display case havingclosed, but intend to cove-rail modifications and 9 substantially theefiiciency of the storage coolers alternative constructions fallingwithin the spir-j heretofore usedand adapted to be positioned in it andscope of the invention as expressed inthe the work space behind thecounter so as to provide appended claims. I r

a large amount of space wherein the cuts: of meat In the drawing, the;invention is illustrated as 40 of various-sizes maybe supported in largequanembodied in a case having insulated walls desig 95. V tities in fullviewof the prospective purchasers hated generally bythe numeral 19defining a narand 'at' the same time readily available to the rowelongated body ofsubstantial height adapted salesmen. i r a I F r to bepositioned against the side wall ofa nar- Another object is to providesuch a display case row store as illustrated in Fig. Sandproviding ahaving separate compartments disposedone above pair of compartments l1and 12 disposed one the other for the reception of the maximum quanabovethe. other and opening through the for-- tity of cuts of meat ofdifferent sizes, the transward wall of the case. r parent forward wallsbeing arranged to insure The two-compartments 11 and 12 are accessibleperfect visibility of the products therein from a through a largerectangular opening 13 formed point in the aisle outside of the counterand the in'the forward one of the insulated walls 10 and 9 doors of thecompartment adapted for large cuts the two compartments are separated bya transof meat being arranged so that the workmen may Verse wall '14supported at its forward edge by a 'readily and-easily remove suchlargeheavy cuts horizontal header-l5 extending across the openfrom thecompartment. ing 1 3 intermediateits top and bottom edges. Amorespeoificobject isto provide a refriger- 1 A case of this'chara'cterniay beplaced against the wall of a store as illustrated in Fig. 3 so'that thegoods within the compartments are viewed by customers standing outsideof the usual counter 16 and the two compartments l1 and 12 are arrangedto provide three distinct display zones disposed at different heights inthe case so that goods in all-three zones may be readily seen by thecustomers. The lower display zone is formed by the bottom compartment 11which has abottom wall 17 in horizontal position flush with the lowerside of the opening 13. The bottom wall 17 of the lower compartment 11is but a short distance above the fioor, in'the present case about twofeet, so that a customer standing in frontof the'oounter 16 must lookdownward ly at an angle into the compartment as indicated i by thedotted line A shown in Fig. 3. To insure a clear view of the goodscontained in the compartment l1, and to permit of convenient accessthereto, a plurality of transparent doors 18 are provided for the lowercompartment 11, the doors I' sloping upwardly and rear-wardiy so asto'avoid reflection of. light. e v p In the. present case the doors 18are of arcuate cross section as shown in Fig. 2 and in order that theopening of the doors will not interfere'with the workmen, the doors arepivotally mounted on brackets 19 so as to be-movable about a horizontalaxisi into an out-of-the-way position in the top portion of the lowercompartment, as shown in dotted. outline in Fig. 2. By this arrangement,any one of the doors 18 may be opened irrespective of the position ofthe'adjacent doors and since the workman may reach downwardly at anangleinto the compartment with both hands andmay hold the door open'with hisupper arm or shoulder, he'is able to lift large heavycuts of meat fromthe compartment with the minimum of effort and loss of time;

. The second and third display zones are formed by the upper compartmentl2, one being pro-' vided by the bottom wall-14 of the compartment whilethe other is formed along the backof the compartment. In order that thefoods, in both.

of these zones of display maybe clearly seen :by

.the customers, the header 15 which defines the 7 lower front edge ofthe compartment 12, is positioned at a distance above the floorslightlyless than the height of an ordinary obseriverfs eye, and the bottomwallle slopes upwardly and rearwardly therefrom so that an observer'standingf infrontofthe counter 16 maylook, along the line B (Fig. 3)into the compartment to inspect foods positioned, on trays 20 removablysup ported. on the slopingibottom wall 14. t

. A division-wall 21 extending'downwardly from a plurality of crossbeams 22 positioned above 7 the compartment 12 serves to support therear edge of the wall 14 and also provides a rear wall for thecompartment 12 upon which suitable hooks 23 may be fixed for hangingvarious cuts of meat. The hooks 23 provide the third display zone whichmay be viewed by thecustomer by forwardly from the upper rear edge ofthe doors 18 of the lower compartment. This construction, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2, is providedby making the header .15 of triangularcross-section with the lower side 24 sloping upwardly and forwardly fromthe lower doors 18 so as not to interfere with the customers viewdownwardly through thedoors 18. Between the header 15 and the upper edgeofthe opening 13, a plurality of posts 25' extend to form separateopenings for a plurality of transparent glass doors 26 which are, in thepresent case mounted along the upper forward edge of the header 15 onthe posts 25 by hinges 27 so that they may be swung outwardly to provideaccess to the compartment 12.

Thus a workman may open one of the doors 26 and may remove meats fromthe trays 20 or from the hooks 23 and to enable the'workman to standexceedingly close to thecase and thereby facilitate such removal'ofstock, the lower forward corner of the case is cutv away or rounded asindicated at 28 in Fig. 2, so that the workmans feet may project underthe case.

Within the case and above the upper display compartment, a coolingchamber 29 is formed by a wall 30 supported on'the cross beams 22, thewall terminating short of the front and rear walls of the case so as toprovide spaces-31 and 32 along the forward and .rear edges" respectivelyof the wall 30. The cooling means may be of any preferred character andin the presentinstance comprises a brine tank 33 and coils 34 supportedby the horizontal wall 30 in the cooling chamber 29. The air'cooledbythefcoils 34 and the tank 33 passes downwardly along the rear one .ofthe insulated walls-10 through'a duct or passage-way 35 formed betweenthe division wall 21 and the insulated rear wallof the case. It will benoted that the passage-way 35 extends pastthe upper 7 compartment 12 sothatit is of considerable verextending from substantially. the top ofthe cooling chamber 29 past the upper compartment 12 and into thelowercomparament .11 and obviously the rapid movement of the air downwardlytherethrough aids in drawing the air from the front of the coolingchamber 29 over the "tank 33 and into the passage-way. V

v The bottom wall 14 of the upper compartment 12 is formed in sectionswhich are spaced from each other to provide air circulation openings inwhich-screens-36 are positioned as shown in, Fig. 2, and the cooled airin the lower compartment 11 passes upwardly, through the screens 36 intothe upper compartment; In theupper compartment 12, the upwardly movingair is directed forwardlyto the space 31 at the front of the compartmentby a sloping baflle wall 37 supported beneath the wall 30 andconnectedto the rear wall 21 of the compartment. The bafiie wall 3'7sloping downwardly to meet the rear wall 21 a short distance abovethehooks 23 imparts a finished appearance to the interior of thecompartment and also serves as a drain board to catch condensate formedon the-coils and the brine tank. Access to the cooling chamber 29' is'provided by a door 38 in one of the end walls of the case and in orderthat sufficient working space may be provided within the chamber29"aboutthe ,coils and brinetank 33 the forward wall of the chamber isoffset forwardly above the oomfloor spaceoccupiedrbythe case.

' Since the upper compartment 12 does not com municate'directly with thecold air passagew'ay and is closed at its upper-rear corner by thebaifie'walls 37'and 21, the opening and closing of the doors 26 does notefiect the downward movement of the cold air thereinand doesnotmaterially effect the temperature in the back of the upper compartment12,'and any warm air,

which'enters through the open doors 26 moves directly up through thespace 31 at the forward side of the compartment into the cooling cham-;her.

This serves to force more cooled air down the passageway ,35 andaccelerates the circulation of air so as to improve the operation of thecase. The circulation. of the air is further accelerated by the slammingof the doors 26 and as a result it has beenfound that repeated openingand closing of the doors does not materially effect the temperaturewithin the case. 'If desired, a vertical baffle wall 40 'may bepositioned in front of thef'coilsfi along the rear edge of the space tooffset any tendency'of the cooledair about the coils 34 tomoveidownwardly through the space 31; r

With acase constructed in accordancewith the present invention ithas'be'en found that two' workmenare able to handle a volume of businesswhich ha's'heretofore necessitated" the employ V ment of at least threemen. Thisresult may be attributed to the convenience .of the arrange-.ment of display compartments which enables the or customers to selectthe particularcut of meat desired before the workman has finishedputting up the orders of the preceding customer. It also results fromthe fact that the meats are all within convenient reach of the workmenand the storage capacity-of the compartments is quite meats from thecompartments to arstorage cooler atthe end ofthe day so that it will beseen that the use of the case is far more simple and satisfactory thanthe display counters heretofore used. I claim as my inventionz- 1. Adisplay and storage'case of the refrigerated type adapted for use insmall stores, said case comprising a narrow elongated body of sub-'-stantialfheight and providing a lower display compartment in said bodypositioned a short dis- "tance above the floor, transparent doors forsaid compartment in the'forward side thereof slop ing upwardly andrearwardly so as to provide a clear view of the products insaidcompartment from a point in front of the case and above the compartment,said doors being movable so as to permit of access into saidcompartment, said case also providing a second compartment above saidlower compartment, said second compartment having transparent doors inits forward side offset forwardly; from the upper edge of the doors'ofsaid lower compartment so as to provide a compartment of substantialdepth, and cooling means in said case adapted to induce a circulation,of air through said compartments.

'A-display 'caseof the refrigerated type .com-

prising a narrow elongated body of substantial height and providing alower display compartment ashort distance aboveithe floor, a transparentdoorfor said compartment in the forward side. thereof sloping upwardlyand rearwardly so as to provide a clear view of theproducts therein froma point in front of the case and above the compartment, .said door beingmove able to permit of access to said compartment,

supporting various cuts of 'meat transparent doors forming the forwardwall of said second compartment, and means for cooling sai'd case.

3. Arefrigerated displaycase having a pair of forwardly [opening displaycompartments jdisposed one abovethe otheiythe lower one of saidcompartments having transparent doors in the V open forward sidethereof'sloping upwardly'and rearwardly, aheader abutting the upperedgeof saiddoo'rs, theforward sideof said header being formed to slopeupwardly and forwardly from its point of contact with said doors so asto permit of an unobstructed view angularly downwardly into the lowerc'ompartment and provide a larger effective openingthereinto,transparent doors disposed along the upper forward edge of saidheader'serving to closethe upper compartment,

and means for cooling said compartments. i i

I i 4. A refrigerated display case'adapted for use in small stores, saidcase comprising a narrow elongated body providing a pairof displaycompartments in the lower portion thereof, a cooling chamber formed bysaidwalls in the upperportion vision','-a plurality of'hooks-in' saidsecond compar-tment adjacent to'the rear wall-thereof for of said body,said chambercommunicating with said compartments, and cooling means insaid chamber, the forward wall of said cooling chamber being offsetforwardly with respect .to the forward walls of said displaycompartments whereby to provide working space about said cooling meanswithout increasing the floorspace occupied by the case. v a

i 5. A refrigerated display case comprising walls defining a narrowcomparatively high case with two forwardly" opening display compartmentstherein disposed one above the other and a cooling chamber above saidcompartmenta said compartments communicating with'each other to permitair to pass from the lower into'the upper compartment,,means providing apassage along downwardly past said upper compartment into. the lowercompartment, and cooling means in.

said chamber including a brine tank positioned in the rear portion ofsaid chamber so as to increase the effective vertical length of saidpassageway.

6. A refrigerated display case having walls 7 defining a pair offorwardly opening display compartments disposed one above the other anda the upper forward corner'of the upper cOmpartcooling chamber abovesaid compartments, trans-1' parent doors closing the open forward side sof said compartments, said'compartments communieating with each other topermit passage of air and having means for supportingfoods on thebottoms thereof, means for supporting food at the back of the uppercompartment, means providing a rear wall for'the upper oneof saidcompartments and defining a cold air passageway back of the upper ofsaid compartments to conduct the cooled air from said cooling chamber tothe lower compartment and means defininganfopening along theupperforward corner of said upper compartment to permit warm air to passupwardly into said cooling chamber, the upper rear cor ner of said uppercompartment beingclosed so as to provide'an air pocket tending'toprevent passage of warm air from the doors tothe back .of theuppercompartment. 1 V

7. A display case of the refrigerated type comprising a narrow elongatedbody of substantial height andproviding a lowerfdisplay compartment ashort distance above the floor, a transparent door for said compartmentin the forward side thereof sloping upwardly and rearwardly so as toprovide a clear view of the products therein from a point in front ofthe case and above the 'compartment,'-said door being movable to permitof access to said compartment, lower and rear division Walls within saidbody forming a second display compartment above said first compartment,the lower wall of said second compartmentbeing inclined upwardly andrearwardly and positioned at such a distance above the floor thatcustomers may view meats thereon along a downwardly inclined line ofvision, supporting means in said second compartment adjacent to the rearwall thereof for supporting various cuts of meat above the slopingbottom wall of said compartment and adjacent to the rear wall thereof,transparent doors forming the forward wall of said second compartment,and means 'for cooling said case. r c 1 l v ,8. A refrigerated displaycase having, a pair of forwardly opening display compartmentsdiscompartments having transparent doors in the open forward sidethereof sloping upwardly and rearwardly, a, header abutting the upperedge posed one above the other, the lower one of said of said doors, theforward side of said header being formed to slop upwardly and forwardlyfrom its point of contact with said doors so as to permit of anunobstructed view angularly downwardly into the lower compartment andprovide a larger effective opening thereinto, transparent doors disposedalongthe upper forward edge of said header serving to close the uppercompartment, a cooling chamber formed on said case above said uppercompartment and having a forward wall offset forwardly from the plane ofthe transparent doors of the upper comwall of the case from the coolingchamber downwardly past said upper compartment without communicationwith the upper compartment and into the lower compartment, and coolingmeans in said chamber,

CARL rnnnnnna.

